


Alouette

by mariquita_gatanegra



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied Death, serial killer au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5899387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariquita_gatanegra/pseuds/mariquita_gatanegra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been three years since she had seen him - <i>really</i> seen him. Three years since their fight with Hawkmoth and since Chat went missing, just over one year since he returned as a whisper along the Seine, a ghost story amongst the youth of Paris and those obsessed with conspiracies and the macabre, and eight months since Chat returned fully as both a real entity and a serial killer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alouette

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of [this post](http://imagine-miraculousladybug.tumblr.com/post/138218266305/au-in-which-ladybug-is-still-hero-and-allbut-chat).

“ _Je te plumerai la tête,_ ” is what the Black Cat croons from the alleyway. “ _Je te plumerai la tête._ ”

“ _Et la tête! Et la tête!_ ” He sings as he emerges from his hideaway. “ _Alouette! Alouette! A-a-a-ah._ ”

Once Upon A Time, _le Chat Noir_ was considered to be a great hero. He stood at the side of Ladybug, the Savior of Paris. Together, they fought against the villain, Hawkmoth, and defended the city that they loved so dearly.

Then, everything changed when the Lucky Duo took the fight from the streets of Paris against Hawkmoth’s akuma, to the mastermind himself.

No one knows _how_ it happened. Some say that it was from being rejected by his Lady, some say that he stood in the line of fire to save his One True Love, while others claim that the mental toll of discovering Hawkmoth’s true identity was too much for his mind to handle. Either way, Chat Noir came away from the battle a changed man.

He ran away from his Lady, from his home, and from the only life he had even known. He disappeared from the public eye, hiding himself away in the slums of Paris and in the sewers. No one saw him for months afterward.

There were search parties, most often championed by Ladybug herself. Even after most of Paris gave up, she ventured on, pushing herself to the absolute limit to find her kitten and bring him home. But even she lost hope.

The city mourned their beloved Black Cat, but Paris soldiered on.

Time passed, and eventually _le Chat Noir_ made his reappearance.

Two young women were walking alone on one autumn night, when they heard a man singing from the alleyway nearby. “ _Alouette, gentille alouette,_ ” they heard him sing, “ _Alouette, je te plumerai._ ”

They paused by the mouth of the alleyway to listen to the song, and from the shadows came a figure that they recognized as the lost Black Cat of Paris. They watched as he sauntered towards them, swinging his tail back and forth in the moonlight, and his signature grin etched on his face. They watched as the lullaby spilled from his lips in an entrancing melody that both soothed and terrified them. They watched as he brought his right hand up and paused his song to utter one word that would continue to haunt the citizens of Paris long after this night.

" _Cataclysme._ "

* * *

Marinette rubbed at her eyes tiredly before staring back at her homemade investigation board. At this point, the chart had taken over two of her bedroom walls, the ceiling, and was inching closer to reaching a third wall. At the center of the jumbled mess of newspaper articles, multicolored strings, thumbtacks, pictures, and notes, was a large photo of Paris's most wanted, and her old partner: Chat Noir.

It had been three years since she had seen him - _really_ seen him. Three years since their fight with Hawkmoth and since Chat went missing, just over one year since he returned as a whisper along the Seine, a ghost story amongst the youth of Paris and those obsessed with conspiracies and the macabre, and eight months since Chat returned fully as both a real entity and a serial killer. 

Early on, it became clear that the police couldn't deal with Chat Noir. Neither could any major policing organizations like Interpol. That's when Marinette realized that it was up to her to stop her old partner and bring him to justice. It made sense, in a way. After all, she was in every way his equal. They fought by each other's side for four years, ever since she was fourteen. They knew each other better than anyone else in the world, and trusted each other with their very lives on a daily basis. 

Fast forward seven years, and Marinette was twenty one, and staring wearily at the bedroom walls of her apartment, searching for any connections that she might have missed on a nonsensical map that she was already burned into the back of her eyelids. 

Regrettably, she had to drop out of her final year at Uni to pursue Chat full-time. She worked two jobs and sold handmade clothes on Etsy to keep herself afloat. It was hard, but Marinette had convinced herself that it was all worth it if she could bring back her old partner. If she could just bring him home, she could return to a normal life, get her degree, and put all of this hero stuff behind her for good. If she could just bring him home...

"What am I doing, Tikki?" She muttered to her kwami. "What's the point of all this?"

"I don't know, Marinette. This isn't the first time one of Plagg's cats have gone rogue, and it won't be the last. But that doesn't make this any easier."

"What did that Ladybug do?"

"More often than not, my ladybug went rogue as well. Plagg and my hosts balance each other, and they need each other to keep themselves sane. My ladybug would give in to the darkness to follow Plagg's cat, sometimes it would be the other way around. Less common, whichever Miraculous User would stay in the light and hunt down their fallen counterpart."

"What happened when they found them?"

"Most of the time? They killed each other."

"There's another way, right? Tikki, please tell me that there's another way. I can't kill Chat, I just can't."

"I'm sorry, Marinette. Sometimes our hosts don't kill each other. Sometimes they succeed in their missions to bring the other either to justice or to the light. But that's really rare. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Tikki. But I already gave up on him once, and I'm not planning on doing it again." Marinette stood from her seat on her bed, and took the few steps that it took to reach her wall. 

"He's not making it easy for you, is he?" Tikki asked from her place on Marinette's head.

"No, he's really not," the young pseudo-detective sighed. "I mean, look at this! There's no pattern! There's nothing that links the victims. It's all completely random. How am I supposed to find him through this mess?

"Patrols have yielded nothing, the police haven't been able to help, not even Alya with the Ladyblog has gotten me any results!"

From on top of Marinette's head, Tikki chuckled. 

"What's so funny?"

"Marinette, you're trying to approach this problem with reason and logic. Two things that have never applied to Chat Noir."

Marinette blinked rapidly as her kwami's statement registered. "Oh my god. You're right," the pseudo-detective moaned. "It's all random. Complete chaos. I mean, none of the victims are remotely related. I've cross-reference _everything_ , Tikki. Names, birthdays, locations, height, hair color, build, how they were dressed the night they died, places they frequented, even their social media! The only link that I found was that every single victim lived alone. That's not even a proper link, Tikki!

"And now, it's all for naught, because according to you, there is no link at all! Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Hold on, Marinette, I never said that there wasn't a link. I just said that there was no reason and logic behind Chat Noir's killings. There's a big difference between those two." Tikki flew off of Marinette's head and pointed to a few printed out pages from the most recent victim's personal blog. The time stamp was dated the night she died.

_signbrostabdad:_

> _Okay so on my way home from work last night the cutest little kitty decided to follow me home. He doesn't have a collar, but he still might belong to someone. I'll take him to the Vet first thing tomorrow to check if he's chipped. If not, then he can always stay with me :)_

The post was tacked next to a picture of the victim's most recent selfie on instagram, which was a just a picture of her holding a black kitten and kissing the top of it's head. The caption for that held the same message as her tumblr post. 

"Yes, Tikki, I know that she found a kitten the night she died. Most of the victims did. See, look at this one." Marinette pointed to another tumblr text post a little ways away from signbrostabdad's.

_pun-less-smile-more:_

> _Aaaaaaw, look at the kitty!_

On that textpost was a blurry picture of a kitten.

"What about this one?" Tikki pointed to a third tumblr textpost.

_bugabae:_

> _Okay, I reFUSE to believe that this isn't bad luck. First, I'm late to work because my shoelaces broke (my damn SHOELACES), then I tripped and broke my compact mirror, I nearly get hit by a car, and at work, stupid Deborah was handing out cupcakes, and out of twenty co-workers, I was the only one who had an allergic reaction from it. (Okay, maybe I should have asked if there was any nuts in the cupcakes, but COME ON! Everyone knows that I have a nut allergy! Thank god for epipens.) Then, after being sent home early by my boss, A BLACK CAT showed up at my doorstep! A BLACK CAT! Granted, it was a kitten, but STILL! Something bad is going to happen to me, I just know it. Whether it's seven years of bad luck or death, something's coming my way. Ugh._  
> 

Marinette stared at that last textpost. "How the hell did I miss that?" She mused.

"Miss what?" Tikki asked innocently.

"Oh as if you didn't know the entire time. I found the link!"

"Congratulations! I was waiting for you to piece it together," the kwami winked. 

"Okay, when we're done with patrol, you are going into an in depth explanation as to why exactly you didn't tell me about this earlier. Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

* * *

The missing link that Marinette had been searching for was the kitten. It was something so insignificant that almost anyone would miss it. Cats were common in Paris, and after Ladybug and Chat Noir had become the city's heroes seven years ago, black cats became increasingly popular. (So did ladybugs, but that's besides the point.)

During Ladybug's nightly patrol, she kept an eye out for any black cats that might be wandering the streets or picked up by any unsuspecting humans. Technically that's what she did every night, but this time she had to keep a careful eye out. 

"Oh, aren't you a cute one?" 

Ladybug perked up at the comment. She looked down at the street from her spot on top of the roof of an apartment building, and held back a gasp. It was Mme. Rochelle. 

See, when Marinette was a child and not old enough to help out in her parent's bakery, her parents would let her stay with Mme. Rochelle during the day. Mme. Rochelle was an elderly woman who lived next door to her parent's bakery, and she would teach Marinette how to do little things, like bake gingersnaps and play different card games. Suffice to say, Marinette loved Mme. Rochelle, so what she saw horrified her even more. 

The old woman was kneeling down in front of a black kitten near the mouth of an alleyway. 

Ladybug went through her mental checklist. Mme. Rochelle lived alone (just like all the other victims). Mme. Rochelle was now holding a black kitten (just like most, if not all, the other victims). Ladybug's instincts went crazy, and it took everything that she had not to jump off of the roof and smack the kitten right out of Mme. Rochelle's hand. What she did instead was slightly more suicidal.

Ladybug leapt off of the roof and detransformed as soon as she hit the ground, then took off running after the old woman.

"Mme. Rochelle!" Marinette called out, "Mme. Rochelle!"

The old woman gasped and turned around, delighted. "Oh, is that little Marinette? You've grown so big!"

"It's me, Mme. Rochelle," Marinette giggled. "How are you?"

"I'm doing as well as my age provides. Celeste keeps telling me that I should just move out of my lonely apartment and in with her at the retirement center. Can you believe her? I'd sooner die than go to that stuffy old place."

"Haha, yeah. I'm with you there. I'm living by myself as well, and Alya's trying to convince me to move in with her. Mama and Papa agree with her. They say it's not right for a young girl to be living by herself in the city."

"Marinette, that's because you live in a rat's nest. I've only been there once, and it's absolutely awful. Maybe you _should_ move in with Alya. Speaking of which, how's she doing?"

"She's doing just fine, Mme. Rochelle. Did you hear? She got a job with _Le Nouvel Observateur_!"

"Oh, good for her! I always knew that she would make it there. Give her my best wishes, will you dear?"

"Of course, Mme. Rochelle. Oh my, who's this?" Marinette leaned over so that she could examine that kitten in her old babysitter's arms. 

"I don't know. I just found him wandering around and I thought that I would take him home and introduce him to Gretchen and Lady Diana. It's been a few weeks since Little Caesar died, and they need a new friend. Oh Marinette, what do you think about naming this little bundle of joy, Harold?"

"Why Harold?"

"Because he's so hairy!" Mme. Rochelle laughed. "Get it?"

"I get it, Mme. Rochelle, but didn't you just adopt a new cat? You sent me an email about her. Cerise, wasn't it?" Marinette lied, hoping that Mme. Rochelle's terrible memory would play to her advantage. 

"Cerise? But I never... Oh yes, Cerise! Darling little kitten, isn't she. Didn't you think that she was just adorable?"

"She's the cutest little thing that I've ever seen. Oh, you know? Why would I even need a new cat anyway? Why don't you take him, dear. I know how terribly lonely it gets at night." Mme. Rochelle winked at Marinette and handed her the kitten. 

"Mme. Rochelle, I don't even know what to say."

"Then say nothing, my dear, and accept the gift. I remember when I was your age and I got my first cat. I called him Doughboy because my fiancé was a new recruit during the war. Or was it because he kept trying to eat my cookies while I was trying to make them? Oh dear, I can't remember. But he was a white cat. Absolutely gorgeous, he was. Oh, listen to me ramble on like an old bird. You better get back to that stink hole that passes for an apartment before it starts to storm. Goodnight dear, stay safe."

"You too, Mme. Rochelle."

Marinette watched as Mme. Rochelle continued on her way, whistling what sounded like a drinking song. Marinette smiled fondly at her old caretaker before turning and walking back to her apartment. About halfway there, it really hit her what she had just done. Or rather, Tikki hit her.

"Ouch!" Marinette winced and rubbed the top of her head. "What was that for?"

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Her kwami demanded.

"Yes, I just saved Mme. Rochelle's life!"

"And you've doomed your own!"

"What was I supposed to do? Let Mme. Rochelle die?"

"Yes! I mean, no, but Marinette! I can't let you do this!"

"Tikki, he's my partner. I'm going to have to face him eventually."

"But what if he kills you? Then what?"

"He's not going to kill me Tikki," Marinette assured, "I'm going to take him down. And maybe knock some sense into him if I have to."

"I don't know, Marinette. This seems way too risky. Just put the cat down and go home."

"I can't, Tikki. Don't you see? This," she gestured to the kitten that was all but asleep in her arms, "is my good luck at play. I found the link, and if we're right, Chat Noir is going to come for me."

"What if we're wrong? What if this isn't the right cat? Let's say everything goes right, and Chat Noir does show up. What happens if you can't bring him back? What if you can't beat him?"

"I guess we're just going to have to find out."

* * *

High above the roofs of Paris, and deep in the shadows of it's alleyways, there stood a man. On his face was the crazed smile of a lunatic with an objective but no real mission. As he leapt from shadow to shadow, he sang.

" _Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai_ " He stopped and surveyed the Parisian skyline from his perch. "Ah, Paris," he sighed, "the city of lights. Who shall we play with tonight?"

He closed his eyes, and took a deep inhale of the Paris smog. From amongst the many scents clashing in the air, he found the one that he was looking for. His eyes snapped open, and his almost serene smile widened into a toothy smirk. The name of his next victim rolled from his lips like silk. 

" _Marinette._ "

He let out a nostalgic laugh, and leaped from his perch to the next rooftop, and continued his song as the first clap of thunder sounded. 

" _Marinette, gentille Marinette. Marinete, je te plumerai._ "

* * *

Marinette did her best not to sleep that night. Tikki, on the other hand, conked right out as soon as her head hit something soft. The death kitten (the title which Marinette had understandably bestowed upon the black cat) had curled up on Marinette's lap as soon as she sat down on her favorite armchair. And as much as Marinette wanted to shove the kitten off of her and get as far away from it as possible, she just couldn't bring herself to. After all, it wasn't the kitten's fault that it had a homicidal superhero attached to it. 

Right?

To keep herself awake, Marinette turned on the television and flipped through the channels, searching for something engaging and interesting to keep her mind off of sleep. She placed the kitten on the floor and made herself a cup of coffee. She splashed cold water on her face. She did everything in her power to stay awake. 

But in the end, she gradually slipped into unconsciousness. 

She wasn't asleep for very long before she woke up in a cold sweat with a scream on her lips. The cat was purring on her lap and butting his head against her stomach and hands. He meowed softly for attention, and Marinette absent-mindedly ran her fingers through the death kitten's fur. To be honest, it helped. She felt herself calm down as the impressions of swarms of butterflies escaped her train of thought. 

In the background, lightning forked across the sky and rain pattered against the windowpanes. She checked the clock: 3:42 am. 

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this wasn't the right kitten, and maybe Chat Noir wasn't coming. Marinette felt herself relax further into her armchair. 

_Tap tap tap._

Marinette froze.

_Tap tap tap._

There it was again.

_Tap tap tap._

And then a voice sounded, its voice muffled by the glass and by the rain. 

" _Marinette, lovely Marinette. Marinette, won't you let me in?_ "

Marinette knew that voice. She would know it anywhere. From outside her window, Chat Noir spoke.

"Marinette, I know that you're in there. I know that you can hear me. Take pity on a poor kitty and let me in from the rain. Just like old times."

Marinette moved the death kitten and slipped out of her chair. She crawled to her crafts table, where Tikki was fast asleep on a pile of fabric scraps and grabbed her. The red kwami mumbled something in her sleep, then turned over in Marinette's hands. 

"Tikki," Marinette hissed. "Tikki!"

"Hm, what?" The kwami groaned.

"He's here."

" _What_?" Tikki was wide awake now. "Chat Noir is _here_?"

"Yes!"

"Well what are you waiting for? Spots on, Marinette!"

"I can't. Not yet. If he sees Ladybug, he'll just run away again. No, I need to face him as Marinette."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Tikki stated, and hid herself. 

"Ah, there you are. Naughty girl, did you think that you could hide from me?"

Marinette stifled a gasp. (How did he get inside without her noticing?) She took a deep breath, and stood up. She did not face him.

"Chat Noir, what a pleasant surprise. Are you here to kill me?" She asked cordially. 

"Purrhaps I am, purrhaps I'm not." He stepped closer. 

Marinette groaned internally. He was an insane serial killer, and yet he still couldn't stop making cat puns? The world was a cruel and unfair place. "Seriously, Chat? That pun was awful." Marinette surveyed the crafts table in front of her, searching for a weapon of some sort. 

"You mean, _paw_ ful," he chuckled. He was almost to her now. 

Marinette's attention was grabbed by her blue-handled sewing scissors. She could grab them and defend herself. _Aim for his face,_ her mind whispered, _he is invulnerable everywhere else_.

"Oh my sweet Marinette, my beautiful Princess. Look what time has done to us. You are still beautiful, no doubt. Turn around, won't you? I'd like to see your face."

She hesitated. 

"Please turn around? Come now, little lady, I won't bite."

Marinette snagged the scissors off of the table, and slipped them into her robe pocket as discreetly as she could. She turned around, and stared into Chat Noir's acid green eyes. In the darkness, she could only see his faint outline, but when lightning struck again, he was illuminated for just a second, and Marinette could see every one of his teeth. She stood frozen as his hand snaked forward into her robe pocket. 

"Oh Marinette, scissors? You'll have to be better than." He retrieved the sewing scissors from her pocket and tossed them aside. "Those won't work on me."

"Why are you doing this?" Marinette all but whispered. 

He leaned closer until their faces were only a few centimeters away. "You wouldn't understand if I told you. Now be a dear, Marinette, and stay still for this next part. It won't hurt much, I promise." He brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. " _Cataclysme_ "

"TIKKI SPOTS ON!" Marinette shouted, and jumped away at the last second. Chat Noir's hand hit the crafts table, and completely destroyed the entire thing. She rolled off the ground and when she stood upright, she was fully transformed and ready to fight. 

"Ladybug? But you're... You're dead." Chat Noir was staring at her now. (Was that fear in his eyes?) He clutched his head. "This isn't real. You're not here! You can't be! He told me you were dead!"

His eyes snapped open and he _glared_ at Ladybug. " _You._ Who are you? Why are you tormenting me?" He demanded.

"Chat, it's me! It's Ladybug! I don't want to hurt you."

"Too late."

Chat Noir pounced, his claws fully extended. Once again, Ladybug dove out of the way, but this time she rolled into her bedroom and locked the door. Behind her, she could hear Chat screaming at her and trying to beat the door down. 

"Think, Ladybug, think," she scolded herself. "Can I even use Lucky Charm if there's no akuma?" A faint beeping in the back of her mind gave her her answer. "Oh well, here goes nothing. LUCKY CHARM!"

From the air, a red-and-black wool blanket fell into her arms. 

"What the hell do I use this for?"

At that moment, Chat Noir let out a final shriek, and kicked the door in. Ladybug jumped away and to her surprise, he lit up red and black as soon as she laid eyes on him. In her mind, a plan fell together just as Chat Noir charged at her.

Ladybug held the blanket out in front of her, and when Chat Noir got close enough, she swung herself to the side and caught Chat in the blanket. He fell to the floor with a _thump_ and swore. He struggled to escape the blanket, but unfortunately for him, his claws were too tangled in the wool to allow for escape. Just to be safe, she sat on him as well. 

Ladybug could hear his ring beeping rapidly. She prepared herself, because as soon as the ring deactivated, she would see the face under the mask. The face of her old partner, and the face of a cold-blooded killer. Under her, Chat Noir was spitting out curses and jumbled phrases. Many of which were so graphic that Ladybug wanted to cover her ears and hide. 

The ring beeped one final time, and Chat Noir detransformed, and went still. A small black kwami flew from the blanket and landed on the bed, and didn't move. Ladybug waited one second, then two, then three. She slowly got off the blanket and gently removed it from off of Chat. She balled it up and threw it into the air, uttering the spell for Miraculous Cure. As per usual, the ladybugs swarmed through the air and fixed everything that was broke, but this time is seemed to be confined to her apartment only. Ladybug grimaced, and tip-toed over to the lightswitch. Because unlike her feline counterpart, she didn't have the night vision to see who he really was in the darkness. What she did see was the unconscious form of a blonde man, but that wasn't enough to go on. She flicked on the lights and bit back a scream. Her eyes went from him to her investigation board, where she had tacked up a picture of Chat Noir's first victim: Adrien Agreste.

But apparently that wasn't the entire truth. It couldn't be, because Adrien Agreste was lying unconscious on her bedroom floor.

* * *

When Adrien woke up, there were a couple of things that he noticed. First, he wasn't in his usual hovel, but instead in a bedroom that he didn't recognize. Second, he was tied to a bed. (He'd have to do some serious kinkshaming later on.) Third, Plagg was missing and his ring wasn't on his finger. And fourth, what might as well have been titled "Adrien's Walls of Shame" was hanging just across the room. 

He averted his eyes. 

In the background, he heard voices conversing in the hallway. He only caught snatches of words in between calm/agitated noises. Then the door clicked open, and Plagg few in. 

"Plagg! What's going on? What happened?" Adrien demanded, struggling against his restraints (damn, he was _seriously_ going to have to kinkshame someone). 

"Settle down, kid. Remember what we talked about?"

Adrien sighed. "Try to keep a cool head." 

"Good cheese provider. Now I need you to keep an _especially_ cool head right now. Try not to scream. Again."

Before Adrien could ask what Plagg meant by that, the door opened wider, and Marinette stepped through. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in concern and she was biting her lip in a way that Adrien might have found adorable if he wasn't suddenly overcome by feelings of intense rage. 

"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?" The blonde screamed, and began violently thrashing in his seat. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Wow okay shut up." Plagg flew in front of Adrien's face and glared at him. "I said keep a _cool_ head you dingus. Do you even know _why_ you want to kill her? Or is your desire for revenge and penance so great that you've finally given in to the insanity?"

Adrien stopped for a moment, and glanced distrustfully over at Marinette. "I- I don't-"

"Yeah that's right, you don't. So shut your mouth and listen to her. Oh, and try not to freak out _even more_ , but your anima is here. Have fun." Plagg said as a small black kitten came into view. 

Adrien froze and glared down at the kitten, who stared up at him innocently. Marinette ignored the budding rivalry and sat down at the foot of Adrien's (well, technically her) bed. "Adrien," she said softly, and Adrien tore his gaze away from the kitten to stare at her. 

"What?" He snapped.

"Why are you here?"

"If I'm guessing correctly, you're the one who tied me to your bed. Now if I didn't know any better-"

"Not that!" Marinette interrupted. Her cheeks brightened into a light shade of pink. "Why did you come into _my apartment_?"

"You're the one with the Shame Walls. You tell me."

"Shame Walls? What do you- oh. Those." Her gaze flicked over to the string-covered walls. "Alright then, you came here to kill me."

"That _was_ my intent, yes."

"Why?"

"You're telling me that you don't know what I did? All of Paris knows that I killed her." Adrien averted his gaze. "Even you should know. You're the one imitating her."

He watched as Marinette confusedly mouthed the word 'imitating.' "Wait, you think that you killed Ladybug? I think that I would know if you killed Ladybug."

"So you're telling me that for the past three years I've been riddled with guilt for something that never even happened? Wow suddenly I feel so much better!" He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Yes, I killed Ladybug. During our final battle with Hawkmoth, I made a mistake. I screwed up, and it cost Ladybug her life. Then there's that _stupid_ cat that I've been following around for the past few months, and if I kill whoever the cat goes to, eventually I can fix my mistakes and bring Ladybug back. Happy now?"

"Oh Adrien, I had no idea..." Marinette cupped his cheek. "I'm so sorry, I never should have let you go." 

Adrien tore his face away from Marinette and snarled at her. She shrunk back the slightest bit, then her features hardened into a fierce expression that reminded him so much of Ladybug. She stood and retreated back to the doorway, sparing him one final glance before closing the door and leaving him alone with that cursed cat. 

Speaking of which, the cat, his _anima_ as Plagg referred to it, hopped onto the bed and curled up in his lap. Adrien hated that cat. 

_You're an idiot, you know,_ the cat said. (Well, _said_ isn't the right word. It was more of a series of gestures that Adrien happened to understand.) _She's telling the truth. Ladybug isn't dead._

"You were the one who told me that she was," Adrien reminded.

_I said no such thing. I just said that half of you was gone._

"Yes. And that's _Ladybug_. It's pretty common knowledge that she's my other half."

_You really are dumb. Do you understand nothing? Your missing half was never her. It was your anima. Your_ soul. _In plain simple terms, it was me._

"... Why the hell didn't you just say that in the first place?" Adrien's fists began to shake.

_I am a cat. It's never in my nature to be direct. It's not my fault that you didn't understand me._ The anima licked his paws, seemingly unaware of Adrien's anger.

"And all that talk about making me kill people? Was that a miscommunication as well?"

_I didn't say anything about killing. I merely stated that I would eventually lead you to your precious Ladybug. You came to the killing conclusion all on your own. That is the problem with having your soul ripped out of your body by black magic. Everything gets all muddled inside. Honestly, did you have to kill the man with the blue hair? He was very kind to me, and his treats were sublime. Anyway, there is a way to fix all of this, but you have to be willing._

Adrien glanced at the Walls of Shame and noticed the picture of the man that the anima was talking about. The words _Julian LaForest_ were written under it on a piece of white tape. There were so many other names alongside Julian's.

"Will it bring them back?"

_No. They will remain gone. The dead can never come back to life. With that in mind, do you want to correct your mistakes?_

"I want to fix this. Really, I do. I can't live like this. I can't keep hiding. Tell me what I have to do.

_Talking will get us nowhere,_ the black kitten flicked his tail. _Allow me to show you._ The cat jumped onto Adrien's chest and then curled around his neck. _This might hurt a bit._ At first nothing happened. Then a flurry of images were thrust into Adrien's mind.

He saw butterflies. Swarms of black and white butterflies fluttering around, some with malicious intent, others without. He saw himself and Ladybug dancing around attacks and firing attacks of their own. He saw Ladybug hit by a column of darkness, and she vanished. Adrien felt himself overcome by rage and pounced onto Hawkmoth, the mastermind behind every single attack and every single scar that he and Ladybug bore He saw Hawkmoth smile the smile of a man assured by victory. He saw the glint of steel and felt a pulsing in his chest. He felt himself being torn apart. He saw a pale green amorphous shape fly through the air and escape out the window. Through hazy vision, he saw the green take a feline shape and escape through the window. He followed it, shattering the circular stained glass into pieces. Behind him, he heard someone shouting after him. 

He felt himself hit the ground and run off, injured and hysterical. He vaguely felt time pass by him until he was standing in an alleyway, watching two girls walk down the street, giggling to themselves. He heard himself sing an old nursery rhyme, and then h-

"-at Noir! Chat Noir! _Adrien_!"

Familiar blue eyes stared into his, beautiful twin pools marred by concern and worry.

"Ladybug..."

"Close enough," Marinette said, and pulled back enough so that he could _see_ her. "What happened? I only left you alone for a few minutes. You were screaming."

"Where'd the anima go?" Plagg's voice came from on top of Marinette's head. "Oh, did you do the memory thing? Are you back to normal?"

"I think?" Adrien shifted in his seat. His restraints were starting to itch. "I'm... I don't know, less angry I think. And I remember what happened what really happened. With Hawkmoth. Marinette, _Ladybug_ , I am so sorry. I left you alone to deal with a madman because I wasn't able to protect you. I'd understand if you never wanted to see me again, or-"

He never got to finish. 

"You. _Stupid_. Cat!" She tackled him and threw her arms around his neck. Which was easy enough, considering he was sitting against her headboard. "I'm the one who should be sorry! We weren't ready to go fight Hawkmoth. I pushed us into it, and look where it got us. I thought you were dead for two years."

She was crying now. They both were. They stayed like that for several minutes, Marinette hanging onto him like he would vanish if she let go. After a while, Adrien broke the silence.

"Hey, do you think you can untie me now? This isn't exactly comfortable. I mean, unless you want to..." He trailed off, smirking at Marinette. She stared at him for a moment, and he watched as her face went from pale to red in record time. 

"Wow, shut up. Shut up. No, you _shut those eyebrows up_." She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. But she was smiling now, and _my god_ , Adrien thought, _I want her to smile like that all the time._

* * *

Things didn't get magically better after that. There was no Miraculous Cure to fix everything that Marinette and Adrien had been through for the past three years. But that didn't mean that they didn't try to make things better.

To start, both Ladybug and Chat Noir officially retired. That is, Ladybug had sent along a message to Alya Césaire (who still worked part time on the Ladyblog) that Chat Noir had not been in control of his actions for the past eight months, Ladybug had found both him and the true culprit, and that they were going out of commission. A lot of people weren't happy about that at all. Chat Noir had killed a lot of people, and their loved ones wanted retribution. 

Adrien Agreste had come out of hiding. He went missing shortly after Ladybug and Chat Noir's final battle against Hawkmoth, and after it came to light that Chat Noir had gone rogue, Adrien was thought to be the ex-superhero's first victim. Adrien's official story was that he was attacked by Chat Noir, but rather than die, he had lost his memory and spent the past three years living under the name Félix Malheur in a small village on the outskirts of Paris. (Technically that was true. Adrien had been using that village as a hideout during his time away from Paris.)

Shortly after his return to Paris, Adrien moved in with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The two married soon after that and adopted a cat. And for the first time in seven years, things in Paris are peaceful.

**Author's Note:**

> I will admit that this was hard to write. I got stuck a lot, and parts in the middle and the ending are kind of weird because I didn't know where to go with it. And Sorry about that. I'm not good at endings. I hope you enjoyed anyway :)


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